Even as the sleepy coal town of Talcher shot into limelight with the presence of PM Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, apart from Union Ministers and thousands of BJP and BJD leaders and workers on Saturday, the basic problems of Talcher like pollution, traffic, drinking water and health etc skipped the attention of the country’s who’s who.

Instead, the big shots in the BJP and the BJD fired salvos at each other to take credit for the revival of the defunct FCI plant’s revival at Rs 13,000 crore. PM Modi directly hit out at the Naveen Patnaik Government for cornering people’s support through the Re 1- a-kg rice to the poor in which the Central Government was giving Rs 25-30 for each kg of the rice, indicating that the share of the Odisha Government was negligible.

While pollution has been a big issue and needs urgent attention of the authorities, with Talcher coming under the severely polluted zone of the country as per Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the authorities have not been showing any seriousness towards afforestation, regeneration and protection of the existing forest cover. The negligence to protect and revive the 613.114 acres of Rani Park is a glowing example.

According to sources, the Rani Park was built by the ex-ruler of Talcher, which is very close to the Talcher town area. Since 1996, the MCL has committed to protect the park by constructing boundary over at least 500 acres of the park and undertaking afforestation activities. But so far, the park lies uncared-for, with some half-hearted measures taken.

In a meeting held on July 18, 1996, in the State Ministry of Revenue and Transport, it had been decided to hand over 500 acres of the Rani Park to MCL for afforestation and protection. A committee had been formed for overseeing the development plan of the park and the plantation activities. But the MCL which took up construction of boundary of the park stopped it suddenly citing encroachments of land.

To a question in Rajya Sabha by former MP Ram Chandra Khuntia in 2001, the then Minister of State for Coal Syed Shahnawaz Hussain had informed that the MCL had taken up plantation in 31 acres are of the Rani Park and had sought a comprehensive plan of development from the Chief Architect, Government of Odisha for further plantation.

However, a joint committee report on the plantation status of park in 2016 stated that the Forest Department has made plantation of 126.25 hectares of the park out of the Odisha Enviornment management Fund Trust (OEMF) in two phases. It said the total 126.25 hectare area has been protected by barbed wire fencing. It also mentioned that the MCL did plantation but the same was not identifiable.

Pallahara MLA Mahes Sahu in a letter to the State Chief Secretary in June this year expressed his dissatisfaction over the afforation programme in the park and apprised him of how the boundary wall constriction could have been completed if the MCL and local administration had been serious enough during the time when the constriction started. “If the work constructed in time, there would be no problem of encroachment,” Sahu wrote.  He also lamented that due to want of care, the plantation scheme taken by MCL has failed.

Notably, given its proximity, if Rani Park is grown fully, it would help reduce climatic heat of Talcher, besides containing the dust pollution.

This apart, the perennial traffic owes of mining town remains unaddressed for long. Due to no permanent and credible road exclusive for coal transportation, the coal transporting vehicles are creating pollution and traffic jam in the entire town. Though the bye pass road is not used for coal transport these days after years of protests from the locals and regular accidents and dust pollution, even today there is no safe road for the purpose. The question as to why the profit-making MCL is averse to construct a special road for coal dispatch has no answer yet.

Meanwhile, though the MCL has constructed a medical college and hospital (MCH), but allegations that it will run the MCH through outsourcing has spread resentment among the public. In a meeting recently, the Talcher Paribesh Suraksha Samiti, a forum comprising locals, activists, leaders and intellectuals strongly condemned the attempt to privatise the MCH. They apprehend that if the MCH is privatised, the mining affected people who are suffering from various kinds of diseases due to pollution will not get affordable and quality health service.